On a recent trip, I was reminded of the importance of being willing to step out of your comfort zone. As a leader, a teacher, in your profession or in your personal life, growth will not occur unless you are willing to step out of your comfort zone.

I accompanied my husband on a business trip and since we were going to be close to Zion National Park, I planned a day trip there so he could see the magnificence of the park. It had been twenty-three years since I had been to Zion and I was excited to share the wonder of the park with him. I mentioned to my brother that we were going to be there and he said, “Are you going to do the Angel’s Landing hike? That’s supposed to be ‘the’ hike to take in Zion.” That’s when I began to do some research…and decided to step out of my comfort zone.

There were a couple of things that occurred to me as we made this hike. The first was that I must have been a fool to think that I could accomplish this hike! We were obviously twenty to thirty years older than most everyone else on the trail. The trail description was strenuous – that doesn’t match my ability. The young people who were coming down as we were going up all had red faces and looked worn out. We had previously decided that we would take the hike slow and easy, stop when we needed rest and see if we could conquer this “strenuous” hike. We were definitely stepping out of our comfort zone!

When stepping out of your comfort zone, the following thoughts come to mind:

We all have them…the things that frustrate us, take our time and that we complain about, yet if the truth were known, we would be devastated if they were no longer required of us.

If you were to look at my personal social media accounts, the picture that the outside world sees is one of happiness – one of fun. I have photos of my husband, children, grandchildren, other family members and friends involved in all kinds of activities. You would see the places I have travelled and the things that I enjoy. Those things are a significant part of my life, but not the whole sum of my life.

After taking kids to the lake and multiple trips to the pool, I was suddenly washing my fifth load of beach towels in three days. Finding more dirty towels in the laundry room floor, suddenly I felt like all I was doing was laundry. For some reason I became annoyed…and yet…